Success May Not Look Successful.
length: 56:58 - taught on Jun, 18 2025
Class Outline:
Wednesday June 18, 2025
Main idea: John the Baptist was the prophesied Elijah and he was rejected and suffered but succeeded in pointing to Jesus as Messiah/King. Success is doing God’s will by fulfilling His calling for your life.
The text: MAT 17:9-13
First, we all have to come down from our mountain top experiences with Christ, and with Christ in His everyday garb and not His blindingly white glorified garb.
Five times in Matthew Jesus prohibits people from telling (MAT 8:4; MAT 9:30; MAT 12:16; MAT 16:20; MAT 17:9).
It is not the right time to tell anyone about what they saw, not even the other disciples. The people of faith saw Jesus as a political Messiah and this vision would have only fueled that false idea.
Is John the Baptist Elijah who was to come?
Jesus’ statement means that Elijah is not a figure in a vision but a real actor in the eschatological drama.
Brief look at Elijah:
Elijah’s ministry is summed up in his abrupt entry into Scripture with his first words:
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."
Spiritual warfare: God v. satanic claims.
Ahab has put himself in two worlds Yahweh and Baal, heavily favoring the latter.
Elijah is the messenger of the one true God.
The Ugarit texts praise Baal as the god who has power over rain, wind, clouds, and therefore over fertility.
Jesus shows His glory on a high mountain. Satan shows the glory of the kingdoms of the world on a high mountain.
The hearts of God’s people are situated against the hearts of the members of the other worlds.
John the Baptist dressed like him, lived his ascetic lifestyle in the wilderness, and boldly confronted the leadership. He spoke the message of the forerunner (ISA 40:3-4) and called the hearts of the people to repent and get ready for the kingdom of heaven, of which water baptism was a perfect depiction ceremony.
John was Elijah to come, “if you are willing to accept [him].”
“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
“It” is not in the original: “If you are willing to accept,”
They did not. And as they rejected John, they rejected Jesus as Messiah.
It is not that John failed but that the people failed. The Lord did not fail but He still was persecuted and died. John pointed to Jesus and so was successful.
The point of Jesus’ response is suffering power or suffering victory. Jesus had the authority to lay down His life and He did, so that we would share in His glory, see it directly, and have it change us into the same glory (2CO 3:17; 4:6).
"But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 18 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!' 19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Looking at the prophecy:
"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers…
And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
The restoration in Malachi was familial - fathers to children and children to fathers. This is the natural effect of believing in the Messiah - you love because you now know that God loves you. But did this happen as a result of the ministry of John the Baptist?
We know it did not. And, as we read a bit farther in the prophecy, we see that God indeed left the possibility of failure open.
"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse."
“So that” can be rendered “lest.” He will restore … lest I come and smite the land. The destruction of Jerusalem indeed happened in 70 AD.
Israel did not accept John’s ministry and so did not accept Jesus’ either.
The result of the people’s rejection of John.
Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, 33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. 34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. 35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE,
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY.
38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. [HAB 2:3-4]
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”
Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."
John is not the reincarnated Elijah, but is the promised Elijah of MAL 4:5-6.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus is not predicting another Elijah in the future, but is agreeing that the scribes are indeed correct. Then, using His formula that He used in Mat 5, “but I say to you…” Elijah was John.
There is a mystery to this that is unseeable.
They did not understand him (epignosis), but did to him whatever they wanted (imprisoned and executed him).
As they did not understand or know John they did not understand Jesus, and so as John suffered, so would the Lord.
If John is Elijah then what about John’s denial that he was (JOH 1:21)?
Application: if people do not accept your ministry, you have not failed (1SA 8:7).
We are not to view ministry success in terms of the world.
Both the forerunner and the Messiah were thought of in terms of power, but their power was revealed in their ability to suffer for the sake of God’s will.
The purpose of God will come to pass no matter how people respond to it. When the storm happened on the sea and the disciples freaked out, they failed to believe the words of Christ:
"Let us go over to the other side of the lake."
Don’t fret about the responses or actions of others. Keep your focus on your Lord.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
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